(born in 1993 in Kyiv) is an artist, performer and curator. She studied Cultural studies at National Pedagogical Dragomanov University (Kyiv, Ukraine), Decorative and applied arts at Kyiv State Academy of Decorative and Applied Art and Design named after Mykhailo Boychuk, and Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts. She also studied documentary filmmaking at Mайстерня.doc Serhii Bukovsky film program and Freie Kunst at Akademie der Bildenden Künste München.

Tetiana is a co-founder of Live Art Lab - a Kyiv-based independent performance art group whose primary focus is research and collective interaction in public space.

In her work, she explores the topic of identity, using narratives of personal and collective history. Tetiana develops the concepts of performative architecture and performative landscape as a political structure. She is the curator of the Kyiv International Performance Art Festival "Performance November", co-founder of Berlin festival “preserve memories - provide energy” and co-founder of German-Ukrainian artistic-curatorial duo «TT Collective».

Tetiana Kornieieva Тетяна Корнєєва

Nothing personal, it's just war

Tetiana Kornieieva (2023)

Sound by Daria Veshtak (Sirakusy)

Performance

30.06, start 18:00

Kulturbrauerei courtyard

Schönhauser Allee 36, 10435 Berlin

1/4

In her performance, Tetiana Kornieieva explores the topic of forced labor during the Second World War in big industrial facilities that nowadays is the the place of cultural space Kulturbrauerei located in Berlin.

Through extensive research of archival materials, the artist discovered that some of the Ukrainian women who were deported to Germany for forced labor under the OST plan were assigned to work for the Telefunken company, which was also involved in weapons manufacturing during the war.

1/4

Being in a hopeless situation, Ukrainian forced laborers became hostages of the idea of "nothing personal, it's just business", which is still on the table nowadays.

Through her artworks, Tetiana addresses the collective memory of Ukrainians and raises the question as to why the significant events that greatly impacted Ukrainian’s lives during and after World War II remain largely unexpressed in the public spaces of Berlin.

1/4

I was born on 4th of July 1921 in Kostopil, in a peasant family. My parent’s house was located on Dvoretskoho Street. I studied in Poland for seven years. During that time, the complete secondary education spanned seven years. I’d excelled in my studies, even surpassing my Polish classmates. Our school had a diverse mix of students, including Jews, Germans, Poles, and Ukrainians. I was very good at studies… In 1939, the war began. In the early forties, specifically in 1943, I was forcibly deported to Germany for labor. I recall being a part of a large group of people, gathered near Dobrobudivniy. There were so many of us, that the queue stretched as far as the eye could see. We were instructed to bring food for three days. I remember my mother giving me bread before we left… It was a cold day in early April. The weather was harsh and we were accommodating in barracks made of thin boards… I was strongly drawn to my Homeland. Ukraine. Like a magnet. I had a deep affection for my country. However, Germans didn’t recognize or understand Ukraine. They referred us to russisch. I would proclaim: “No, Ukraine”... I attended a gymnasium in Kostopil, where I studied with Germans. Unfortunately, the gymnasium only operated for two years before the Germans closed it down. Subsequently, I was sent to Germany… Nonetheless, I became proficient in the German language and also had a good command of Latin. I retained much of the knowledge, imparted in school. In fact, I was the best in my class, when I came to Latin…Even now I remember several proverbs, such as “Memento Mori”, which means remember that you will die… During my time in Germany, I worked at a military factory, operating machines. I recall being assigned the task of carrying heavy iron boxes, weighing approximately twenty kilos. The boxes needed to be moved around five meters away from one machine to another. And then they were replaced…

I was a 15-year-old girl from the village. Stupid child. Well, back then, the children in the village were not like they are now. What did I know? I graced a cow and went to school. I didn't know anything… and after… Germany… And it turned out that I eat this bad spinach that they gave us and got sick… They took me away, but I had no idea where they were taking me. I didn’t even know, where, I didn’t know, where… When we arrived, there was a small house. And then… there was an air attack… They laid on the top…laid…Such double standard sheets of paper. There were these double-standard sheets of paper, scissors, and hair rings to hold braids tightly. There were also small plates with a point on the end and an earlid on the other. It didn't occur to me. I took off everything and then put it on the floor. I threw the scissors on the bed. Underneath the varnished paper, there were girls’ braids. Again, I didn't understand. I was thirsty, and desperately needed a drink. But everything was covered. And there was nothing. So I sneaked into that room… I entered the room. The door was closed and everything was sealed off. There was a table covered in broken glass and two chairs. The third wall had two devices, something like small scales you'd find on the street. If you understand. I was still untouched. I didn't pay attention. I was going back, searching for water. I was incredibly thirsty and weak. There was one closed iron door with a black button and the red button on the right side. I pushed it and the second door opened. And then… I screamed so loudly that I couldn't recognize my own voice. Inside were clothes, spread out everywhere: booths, shoes, dresses, trousers, men's shirts, sweaters, skirts and... And everything was lying there, including combs… At that moment, I realized that people never came out of there. You know. And what exactly happened there, I don’t know…

I completed my schooling in 1941. After the exams, we celebrated our graduation, and just one day later, I received the documents confirming my acceptance into Kharkiv Textile College. However, by the end of July, I had to return. Our college was evacuated due to the war. At that time, my sole goal in life, my one hope, was to pursue my education. I couldn't imagine any other path for myself, before the war. However, all my plans were shattered and destroyed.

I was 17 years old, already working at the machine, soldering shells. Germans were beating us with a whip... I was born in the village Bosivka. In the fall of 1942, I was forcefully deported to Germany. They treated me like a dog, drawing me into a horse drawn carriage and taking me to Lysianka. From there, I was loaded onto cargo trucks and transported directly to Germany. Bayer took me to a bomb factory, where I was assigned the task of soldiering wings onto the bombs and drilling holes in them. If it was a shortage, they would put me in solitary confinement for six days, denying food and water. However, my life was saved by French workers who were stationed nearby. They brought me water and halets through the roof and pushed into my window. They saved my life.

Let's start from my childhood. I started school at a young age, not even six years old. My mother worked as a cook at school and I would often stay around her, because I couldn't stay in the kindergarten for long. I would leave the kindergarten on my own. I was quite energetic, so my mother took me to her work place and the teacher would take me to the class. I turned fourteen on 22 of January 1942 and on 15th of May, I was taken to Germany. A policeman brought a letter, followed by summons, among many others from our neighborhood who were studying at the same class. We were clearly instructed to go to Lvivska square. From there, we were transported to a train station, where wagons were already waiting for us. We were loaded onto those wagons without any consideration. They were filled in a such a way, that it was difficult to find a place to sit. We were not given any food. Those, who managed to bring something from their home, would share it with those, who didn't have time to take anything… Our first stop was in Poland. It was a humiliating experience. Sanitization procedures were carried out… we were made to walk naked through a line of men who held syringes…There was a part of the processing. The second stage of processing took place in Magdeburg. We were then brought to the labor exchange. Each accempled to hide there… People walked around and selected healthy and young individuals. As for us, children, we sat there around three days, waiting for our turn… We were taken to a weapon and gunpowder factory. Our camp was closed off, once we arrived. We worked there every day. They provided us with wooden chocks, which were called “pantofli”. When we walked, the sound echoes far away, as we walked on the pavement… Sleep was what I desperately desired. As children, it was tough to work until midnight. There were frequent explosions and the work pace increased and we had no choice, but to keep going. Our longing was sleep. We would quickly run to the restroom and the provisor would take our place. If you stayed there more than 5 minutes, they would come looking for us, and scold us… Everything was there... Our eyes suffered from the explosions, despite wearing protective glasses. When the explosion occurred, they affected both of our eyes and hands. We worked on those dangerous machine with gloves, but the gloves were so saturated with gunpowder, that they would instantly ignite from the smallest spark. After an explosion, this was incredibly challenging to remove them from our hands quickly… Ideally, they should have been changed more frequently, but it was not possible, probably due to the demanding workplace… We were so weak. Among us was one girl, Maria, and she decided to make us such a five minute rest and… how it could be? Just blow up the machine… She worked on the pressing machine and that was the last operation making such “pistons”, we called them… And now forced to put a coin between the person the cab… There was an explosion, but Maria didn't take into account one more thing… Well, this is understandable. It was such a spontaneous decision. There were four boxes with ready weapons and gunpowder. There were standing near the machine. And when the machine exploded, those boxes with gunpowder began to explode. And behind them, by the following conveyors close by and two meters apart. And our girls worked there. These girls were from Obukhiv, and one was from Fastiv... In total, four girls died. It was impossible to determine what was there… You didn't work for a day... We collected everything and buried them in the yard. We buried them… They probably leveled that place for a long time ago. Why did they level it? About four years ago, I was invited to Germany. Our troops were there. There is nothing left on that factory. There used to be a lake, but there is no lake there. It has been filled in with soil. So there is no memory plate, indicating where our girls are buried.